Ray Wallace
This article is not political. In fact, it is just the opposite. Politics, particularly in recent decades, is more and more about mental and emotional manipulation than policy and principle. The more money a candidate has, the more advertising he or she can buy, and then hire well-trained advertising manipulators to play on the public’s opinions and emotions.
Madison Avenue, the seat of the American advertising industry, is populated by university trained advertising agents who have spent their careers learning and using psychologically proven manipulative techniques.
Quite unfortunately, very few Americans have been taught how to distinguish emotional manipulation from policy. Because of that, our citizens, on average, are quite vulnerable to ads depicting what people simply like rather than actual policy. In other words, Americans, by and
large, fall for carefully crafted, emotionally appealing ads without carefully assessing the actual
policies and plans of any particular candidate. Likewise, they fall prey to emotional manipulation of identity politics and character attacks.
There is a far better approach for thinking Christians. It’s actually quite simple.
A. Stop believing political ads from anyone. More than likely the candidate didn’t write
the ad and had little or nothing to do with its publication (particularly if the ad is published by a political action committee (PAC).
B. Stop being swayed by the number of ads you see or hear, TV, radio or internet. I keep
hearing people say things like, “Well, I’ve heard a lot about that candidate and it’s not good,” not recognizing the fallacy of that reasoning. When we allow our opinions to be formed (in any arena of life) by ads or the sheer volume of ads, we are falling prey to money and manipulation. Period.
C. Use the logic that God gave you. Proverbs 18:17 states, “The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him.” Of course an ad can be persuasive; but I’ve never seen one political ad that properly allows the other side to cross-examine the claims presented in the ad!
D. Apply a godly, scriptural, logical, practical approach:
1) Write down, literally on paper, what you believe about several major topics, (abortion, same sex marriage, foreign wars, federal spending, federal and local programs, immigration, border security, etc.).
2) Determine which, if any, of those topics are actually biblical topics addressed in the scripture.
3) Read the actual published platforms of each major political party and candidate (or even minor, local candidates) to see which candidate and party is more aligned with God’s word, not cultural popularity or personal opinion.
After all, God has blessed this nation with self-determination, in other words, the responsibility for self-governing. God holds responsible, those to whom he has given leadership roles. God held King David responsible for the death of Uriah, not Joab who actually got him killed on the battlefield (2 Samuel 11). Will not God hold responsible the citizens to whom He gave leadership of America?
By using your own God-given logic, not cleverly crafted ads, you can see past the professional manipulators and their psychological, political tricks. By comparing God’s word to the actual written platforms, (not speeches or ads), you will be miles ahead of the average American in proper and logical evaluation of what a party or candidate actually believes and where he or she might take our nation.
Yes, I understand this can be a “hot topic.” But I’m asking that we, as God’s people, do whatever we can to promote godliness in this precious nation God has placed in the hands of we the people. We must never forget what God has said in James 4:17, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
As “We the People,” we are truly in a decisive, authoritative position to affect our future. Like the kings of old, God holds responsible those to whom He actually gave authority. Refuse to be manipulated. Don’t be political, be godly.
ray@rockymountainchristian.com
